As children return to the classroom this week, the NSW government has plans to give families $500 vouchers for every primary school child in a bid to ease the childcare burden.
The $155 million program comes after the state unveiled a $1 billion economic support package for small and medium-sized businesses on Sunday.
Parents will be able to apply for the school-related vouchers, which will be similar to the Dine and Discover program, through Service NSW from February 28.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the vouchers would give parents options as they return to work and provide a stimulus for out-of-school hours care, reported.
It had once been a highly competitive industry struggling to cope with demand, but out-of-school care businesses are now fighting to stay open after the Covid-19 pandemic stripped back enrolments.
The vouchers will cover the parent gap fee for before and after school care services, with the average daily cost of after school care ranging from $20 to $40, while the gap fee is about half.
“Before and After School Care (BASC) services are more important than ever as families return to work following the holidays,” Mr Perrottet said.
“It’s been a challenging past couple of years for parents of school-aged children. Many have had to juggle the demands of supervising their kids’ education at home while working remotely, or even forgoing paid work.
“These vouchers for before and after school care will help alleviate some of the financial pressures on NSW families and provide greater flexibility and more options for those who need to work.”
Head of the Outside School Hours Council of Australia (OSHCA), Craig Napier, said enrolments at outside-school-hours care fell to just 12 per cent in October, when classes resumed after the widespread NSW lockdown.
Enrolments at vacation care throughout January also dropped by 40 per cent compared to the previous year.
The vouchers are expected to cover about 60 sessions of before and after-school care.
Meanwhile, the state government on Sunday also revealed its $1 billion economic support package for businesses, which it will fund alone despite asking the commonwealth to contribute.
The new support package targets small and medium businesses that have had at least a 40 per cent downturn over the summer period, covering 20 per cent of their wages bill to a maximum of $5000.
It has been reported the amount of support would have been doubled if the Morrison government had chipped in.
Mr Kean on Sunday took aim at his federal counterparts, saying he was “very disappointed” they had declined the request for assistance.
“I was hoping to make this announcement standing beside Prime Minister (Scott Morrison) today and the Treasurer (Josh) Frydenberg. But they’re not to be found,” he told reporters.
“These are not just NSW businesses, they’re Australian businesses, that pay their taxes to the commonwealth government, that are doing it so tough at this time.”
